title: Identification and characterization of NF-Y transcription factor families in Canola (Brassica napus L.).
abstract: NF-Y (NUCLEAR FACTOR-Y), a heterotrimeric transcription factor, is composed of NF-YA, NF-YB, and NF-YC proteins in yeast, animal, and plant systems. In plants, each of the NF-YA/B/C subunit forms a multi-member family. NF-Ys are key regulators with important roles in many physiological processes, such as drought tolerance, flowering time, and seed development. In this study, we identified, annotated, and further characterized 14 NF-YA, 14 NF-YB, and 5 NF-YC proteins in Brassica napus (canola). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the NF-YA/B/C subunits were more closely clustered with the Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) homologs than with rice OsHAP2/3/5 subunits. Analyses of the conserved domain indicated that the BnNF-YA/B/C subfamilies, respectively, shared the same conserved domains with those in other organisms, including Homo sapiens, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Arabidopsis, and Oryza sativa (rice). An examination of exon/intron structures revealed that most gene structures of BnNF-Y were similar to their homologs in Arabidopsis, a model dicot plant, but different from those in the model monocot plant rice, suggesting that plant NF-Ys diverged before monocot and dicot plants differentiated. Spatial-tempo expression patterns, as determined by qRT-PCR, showed that most BnNF-Ys were widely expressed in different tissues throughout the canola life cycle and that several closely related BnNF-Y subunits had similar expression profiles. Based on these findings, we predict that BnNF-Y proteins have functions that are conserved in the homologous proteins in other plants. This study provides the first extensive evaluation of the BnNF-Y family, and provides a useful foundation for dissecting the functions of BnNF-Y.
authors.affiliation: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Tongwei Road 6, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu Province, China, liangmx@njau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Mingxiang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Xiangzhen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Zhongyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Qingsong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Guohong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Gengmao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics; D029688:Brassica napus / Q000235:genetics*; D023081:CCAAT-Binding Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D005091:Exons; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D007438:Introns; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D021122:Protein Subunits
chemical_list: D023081:CCAAT-Binding Factor; D010940:Plant Proteins; D021122:Protein Subunits; C402244:nuclear factor Y